Warning What does this mean?
Your system is down or running degraded, but this is not an immediate safety danger. Work through the safe steps below.
SMA Inverter Events 202, 203 and 205 — Grid Gone or Grid Too Low?
Events 202, 203, and 205 all share one message — 'grid incident': the utility grid disappeared, the AC cable is damaged, or the grid voltage at the inverter's connection point is too low, so the inverter disconnected itself. This is normal protection behavior during outages or brownouts, and the inverter reconnects automatically when the grid returns. Check your solar breaker and whether the neighborhood has power; if the grid is fine but the events keep coming, call your installer.
What should I do first?
Two quick questions — we'll point you to the right starting point.
Is this code still showing on your inverter's display?
Is your system producing power right now?
What this code means
When a Sunny Boy shows 202, 203, or 205, it is telling you about the grid, not about itself. All three events carry the same display message — "grid incident" — and the same explanation from SMA: the utility grid has been disconnected, the AC cable is damaged, or the grid voltage at the connection point of the inverter is too low. Faced with any of those, the inverter does the only safe thing and disconnects from the utility grid.
This is anti-islanding protection doing its job. An inverter must never energize a dead grid — line workers repairing a fault depend on it — and it must not feed into a grid whose voltage has collapsed. So the moment the inverter detects the grid is gone or out of limits, it opens its relays and waits. There is nothing wrong with the unit when this happens; it is behaving exactly as certified.
The most ordinary cause is also the most boring: a power cut. If your whole street is dark, the inverter is simply waiting with everyone else. Next on the list is the solar AC circuit itself — a tripped miniature circuit breaker in your distribution board, or a damaged or loosened AC cable between the inverter and the board. Less visibly, the grid voltage at your specific connection point can sag below the permitted limit even while lights stay on, particularly at the end of a long rural feeder or during network faults.
One cause deserves a special mention because only an installer can create or fix it: the country data set. Every SMA inverter is configured with the grid parameters of its country — voltage windows, frequency windows, reconnection times. If the wrong data set is selected, the inverter judges a perfectly good grid as out-of-limits and logs 202/203/205 indefinitely. That is why SMA lists "ensure the country data set has been configured correctly" among the corrective measures, and why persistent events with a healthy grid point squarely at the installation.
Recovery is automatic. Once the grid returns and stays within the permitted range through the monitoring period, the inverter reconnects by itself — no button pressing required.
What is this downtime costing you?
Rough estimate while your system isn't producing. Adjust the numbers to match your setup.
≈ – kWh of lost production per day.
Estimate only — assumes ~80% real-world output vs. nameplate. Actual losses depend on weather, shading, panel direction, and your tariff.
Common causes
- A tripped miniature circuit breaker on the solar AC circuit in your distribution board.
- A damaged, loose, or disconnected AC cable between the inverter and the grid connection point.
- A utility outage, brownout, or maintenance works affecting your area.
- Grid voltage at your connection point chronically below the permitted limit — common at the end of long feeders.
- An incorrect country data set, making the inverter reject a healthy grid (installer-only setting).
Safe steps to try
Work top to bottom, ticking off each step as you complete it. 0 of 5 done.
Is your inverter still under warranty?
Before paying for a repair, check — your installer may fix this free.
Based on typical standard warranty terms — always confirm with your warranty card or installer paperwork, as terms vary by model, region, and purchase date.
When to call an electrician
Call your installer if these events persist while the grid is healthy. Diagnosing them means measuring the grid voltage at the inverter's connection point, inspecting the AC cable and terminals, and verifying the country data set — all professional work on the AC side, which homeowners must never touch. If the breaker trips again immediately after being reset, leave it off and call a professional: something is faulting the circuit.
Frequently asked questions
Will the inverter reconnect by itself?
Yes. Once the grid voltage returns and remains within the permitted range through the monitoring period, the inverter reconnects automatically. No reset or button press is needed.
Is there any difference between 202, 203, and 205?
No practical difference for you — SMA groups them under a single 'grid incident' message with identical causes and identical corrective measures. Treat all three the same way.
How long does reconnection take?
After the grid stabilizes, the inverter watches it for a monitoring period — typically a few minutes, depending on your country's grid code — then resumes feeding in.
Could my inverter be faulty?
Unlikely. These events overwhelmingly trace to the grid or the AC circuit. The time to suspect the unit is when events appear daily while the grid is demonstrably normal — that pattern belongs to your installer.
Need a professional?
This fault may need professional diagnosis. Contact a qualified solar electrician in your area.
Sources: meaning and troubleshooting verified against the manufacturer's documentation — SMA Sunny Boy Operating Manual — Section 11.3 Event Messages (manuals.sma.de): Events 202/203/205, 'Grid incident — the utility grid has been disconnected, the AC cable is damaged or the grid voltage at the connection point of the inverter is too low. The inverter has disconnected from the utility grid.'